Population Based Accessibility Provision for Social Infrastructure: A Case of Regional Education Facility for Dwarka, Gujarat

Dwarka is a coastal city in the Indian state of Gujarat. Urban planning for Dwarka would also consist of planning for social infrastructure, as the city and its population grow over the years. Planning for social infrastructure is a crucial aspect of urban planning practice, especially in the global South, where cities are dealing with rapid urbanization and growing population, whereas the city dwellers tackle obstacles like inequitable access to social infrastructure. Social Infrastructure facilities in the Dwarka are not sufficient for the projected population, as per the URDPFI 2014 Guidelines, according to a recent survey conducted by M. Plan (2022–2024), Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology. The entire district of Devbhumi Dwarka has only four higher education facilities, and none among them is a technical institute. The aim of the study is to propose a location for a higher-education technical institute in the district which has equitable access based on population size and area of influence from all the 4 Talukas which constitute the district. Feasibility Analysis for a college was done based on the projected population and the percentage of college going population of Gujarat. ‘Point of Indifference’ analysis was done using 'Reilly's law of retail gravitation' and QGIS was employed to make spatial representation of the gravitational model of accessibility of infrastructure provision. The result was a proposal for a technical college in the district, whose location would ensure equitable access for people in the district, which is a crucial step in making education physically accessible for overall human development.